On August 22, at the age of 74, Birmingham concert promoter Tony Ruffino suffered a stroke and passed away. We asked Genie McElroy to gather some recollections from those who knew him best.

It’s August in Alabama, and that means hot. It means hot days filled with sweltering temperatures. It means the young and hot are out in their skimpiest outfits. It also means that once again, hot flames are being fanned at Sloss Furnaces, and not in an attempt to make iron once more.

GETTING IT TOGETHER: University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban and Auburn University head coach Gene Chizik will serve as spokesmen for Project Rebound, a federal initiative designed to provide emotional support to people in Alabama affected by the April tornadoes, according to press accounts.

COMING BACK: A little more than 3 months after the April tornadoes—the worst natural disaster in Alabama history—the state is making good progress toward recovery, according to an Aug. 5 report by Marty Roney of USA Today. “Everybody is getting fed, everybody has a roof over their heads,” Jeff Byard, who is coordinating the recovery for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, told Roney.

When you hear “street food,” a few images immediately come to mind. A man sitting next to a stainless steel cart with a red and white umbrella overhead, selling hotdogs that were cooked in what looks like primordial soup. Or perhaps you’re standing next to a rusty truck and getting handed what you thought was a taco, but, on closer inspection, looks like a small pile of cheese and grease.

IT’S PARTY TIME: The non-profit Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama will host a storm-relief benefit Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m., at the Cherokee Center and Arena in Centre.

SEEKING APPROVALS: Only 18 percent of Alabama residents who applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency following the April storms have gotten it so far, according to a July 21 report by Monique Fields of Reuters. But Michael Byrne, a FEMA official in Alabama, told Fields it was too soon to tell how many residents will ultimately be able to get help.

Everyone has a story inside them. Whether it is based on fact or fiction, daydreams or reality, there are whole volumes of characters in our heads.

Quickie: Guillermo Castro Dies Birmingham has lost a treasure. Guillermo Castro, owner of Sol y Luna and Cantina, passed away Monday morning following a heart attack.

TIME FOR FOOTBALL, DAMN IT: It’s almost football season, as if it ever ends in Alabama. And now bitter rivals the University of Alabama and Auburn University are putting aside their fierce competition long enough to help the survivors of the April tornadoes.